Piggy In The Middle
by SunnseanicArts
Summary: Six year old Connor and Murphy meet another little kid on the playground. A kid that looks like Murphy? And why is he so upset? kiddie!Walking Saints because I can.


Hey you! So yesterday night I was lying in my bed when this idea hit me like WAM.  
I love Kiddie!Saints and Walking Saints, so I thought why not combine that?

Yeah, I did. Have some kiddie! Murphy and Connor meet kiddie! Daryl.

friendly reminder that I'm German - grammar etc sucks.

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**Piggy In The Middle**

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The little boy ran after the ball when his twin brother managed to throw it too far for him to catch it. Again. Murphy MacManus was getting sick of being the one who had to get their ball back every single time Connor managed to throw it anywhere and everywhere except for in his arms. Ma was late, and he expected that it would take her even longer than it already had. She had left them at a playground so she could get back to the garage where the old rust bucket they called their car was currently being repaired. It was supposed to be a nice little trip to Savanah. Ma had promised that they could visit aunt Betty and see some nice houses and boats.

Not that they had enough of that back in Boston. But the boys didn't like the big city. All the dark houses and mean people scared them, and they could hardly sleep because it was so _loud_. Especially little Murphy was still crying in his bed sometimes, because he was homesick, because he missed their treehouse, Mr Lynch's horses, the green meadows and uncle Sibeal. A trip to aunt Betty and to Savanah was supposed to make them feel better and make them like America. Except that now they were stuck in some small town in the middle of nowhere, Ma was nowhere to be seen and Connor couldn't throw the stupid ball.

The little black-haired boy ran after the blue ball and nearly stumbled, because once again his shoelaces were open. He still could not tie them and most of the time he didn't bother to do so. Ma couldn't afford those fancy hook and loop shoes. So cousin Marty's old pair of shoes would have to do.

When Murphy had almost reached the ball he accidentally stepped on one of the shoelaces, causing him to fall down, scraping both his knees and palms. The younger of the two MacManus twins hissed and sat down to have a better look at both his bloody knees, and although his eyes were watery and it really hurt he fought the urge to cry. He wasn't five anymore. He was six. Six year old boys did not cry. He was going to grow up and be a strong lad, just like their Ma always told them. The black-haired boy still rubbed his knees with an awkward hiss and tried to get back on his feet, but right then some gentle and rhythmic sobbing and sniffing made him stop.

For a second he thought that his own eyes betrayed him and decided to start crying on their own, but when he touched his cheeks he discovered that they were still dry. Dry, and maybe a little bit dirty and itchy. He started scratching his cheek as he got up and then turned around to see where the noise was coming from. There were several other children running around the playground, but there was one kid that caught his attention. A little boy was sitting on one of the swings just a couple of feet away from him. He was just about his age and had bright blonde hair, almost the same color as his sibling's hair, which was why he suspected that it was Connor at first.

But that couldn't be, because his twin had been alright just a minute ago. Murphy took their blue ball in both his hands and watched the little boy in surprise. He couldn't see anyone around him, no Ma, no Da, no one seemed to care about the fact that he was crying. When the younger MacManus took a closer look at him it made him even more confused, because somehow that little boy looked just like him, except that it looked like he had Connor's hair. He was also a lot thinner than Murphy who, for some reason, still had a tiny bit of baby fat on him that he never seemed to get rid off.

Just when the little boy was about to step closer to the crying other some loud yelling startled him and made him roll his eyes.  
More than five minutes had to have passed by now, because bang on the dot the "panic" alert inside his brother went off.

"Murphyyyyy!" he heard his twin yell and just listened, because even now he still thought that it was way too funny how easy it was to freak Connor out by simply not being there and staying away for too long.

"Murphyyyy!" Connor yelled once more in the except same pitch of voice and pattern which made the younger MacManus twin snicker and snort when he heard it two more times like that.

When he heard the incredibly panicked "MURPHH!" he finally decided to give his brother some peace and wanted head back, but right then he could already see him.

Connor MacManus was just the same age (although six minutes older) and a perfect copy of his fraternal twin. Although there were some details that were different by now it was still incredibly hard for others (except for their Ma of course, oh she knew) to tell them apart sometimes. Well, if you didn't know their respective haircolours yet. The hair and Murphy's developing beauty-mark were the only things others used to tell them apart, and sometimes Connor joked about dyeing Murphy's hair blonde just to make it even harder for the others. But the younger MacManus would always shake it off, would always protest that it would look "gay", a word they had heard Mr Lynch say once and that still made them snicker. Just like Murphy was snickering now, because the panicked look on his twin's face was still priceless every time he saw it.

"What are ye doing ye dickhead, Ma told us ta stay together, I could've lost ye ta weird evil men!" Connor protested as he finally reached his younger sibling and punched his upper arm hard, which made Murphy wince and punch back.

"Can't help that it takes ferever ta get te stupid ball back you dumb-noodle threw like a girl."

"I'm not a girl!" Connor growled and hit Murphy once more and raised an eyebrow when he saw his twin's bloody knees.

"And 'm not a dumb-noodle either. Stop sayin tha. And what's that? That was just healed, Murph. Ma'll beat my arse again cos I didn't watch ye clumsy idiot" he muttered and knelt down to tie his twin's shoelaces. Murphy stood there and let his twin brother motherhen him just like he always did when Ma wasn't around. The dark-haired MacManus scratched his itchy nose and looked at crying boy again, who was still sitting on the swing all by himself and rubbed his black eye every once in a while.

"He looks sad" Murphy muttered and Connor got up as soon as he was done with his twin's shoelaces.

"Who is?"

"Tha boy over there" the younger of the two muttered and pointed at the crying blonde boy.

"Do ye think we should ask 'im ta play ball with us? Looks like Ma'll be gone fer a while" he then suggested and looked at Connor, who was eying the boy head to toe.

"Wow Murph, is it just me or does he look like ye?"

Murphy snorted and hit his twin's arm again, the exact same spot he always used where the bruise was that Connor'd had for months now because of him.  
The blonde MacManus rubbed it with a hiss and then shrugged.

"Well, since nobody else seems ta want ta play with him..Might be better at throwing te ball then you are, and maybe then I don't need ta run after te ball every two seconds."

"I'm te one always running after yer stupid ball because you can't throw it!" the younger MacManus protested.

Connor grinned and started running towards the boy.

"Whatever, whoever gets t'him last is a massive dickhead!" he exclaimed and started running as fast as he could, since he knew that there was no way Murphy would ever catch up with him. Not his favourite clumsy idiot.

"Connor! Tha ain't fair! Connor you are so...Oh come on, I'm not...I'm not a dickhead!" Murphy shouted after him and came to a halt right next to his twin who was standing almost right in front of the crying boy now. The blonde stopped crying and wiped his eyes in a hurry. One of them was swollen and black, like someone had hit him really hard in the face. All in all he just looked miserable and even more messy than Connor and Murphy.

When he raised his head to see what was going on piercing blue eyes scanned both MacManus twins head to toe, and there was something dangerous and unpredictable about him that both brothers fell quiet and just looked back at him. Although Murphy always liked to pretend that he was invincible and feared absolutely nothing he had to admit that he was a little bit intimidated and freaked out, which was why he instinctively stepped a couple of inches back and grabbed the back of Connor's shirt while awkwardly biting his lower lip. Yeah. Yeah. It had been his idea to talk to the upset boy, but Connor better did the thing. Connor better start talking to that face stealer, because now he could really see the resemblance himself.

The older MacManus twin twirled and spun the ball as if he was trying to impress the stranger, who wouldn't stop staring at them.

"Hi" Connor said and looked at the boy, but that one just wouldn't answer.

"'m Connor. Tha's my little brother Murph. Do ye wanna play ball with us?"

"Little? But Ma said...Ow!" Murphy protested when his sibling shut him up with a hard kick to his shin.

The little boy just stared back at them like they were aliens or something, and after sniffing and wiping his cheeks once more he suddenly snorted and shook his head.

"I ain't playin with no rug-munchers. Piss off" he growled and tried to turn the swing around so he could turn his back on them.

But it was still obvious that he was very upset and just about to cry again.  
Connor just looked surprised, Murphy reacted with an angry frown.

"You eat a broomstick or something?"

"Murph" Connor hissed and kicked his twin once more, making the younger MacManus wince and kick back.

"Okay, sorry fer interrupting yer crying then. We just thought ye could use something ta cheer up" Connor muttered and grabbed his sibling by the collar of his shirt to drag him away from the swings.

"I ain't cryin" the boy growled and Connor kept going, dragging both his brother and the ball along.

"Did yer Ma never tell ye ta be a little more thankful when people are nice ta ye you..."

"Murph, shut it!" Connor interrupted his twin and dragged his younger half further away from the swings until he shoved him back and threw the ball at him.

"Here. Yer turn" he muttered and positioned himself, expecting the ball to be thrown back to him.

Murphy turned around once more to look at the boy, but when the other wouldn't react he shook his head and started playing. He did not understand why Connor had been reacting like that, why he had let go like that instead of talking some sense into the weirdo, but truth was that he did not care any longer. His attention span was rather short and it was easy to distract him with fun and shiny things, and right now he was more interested in winning the ball game against his brother. This was the first notable difference between the MacManus twins.

Connor was a bit more developed already. He slowly understood the world and its mechanics, and he knew when to fight and when to leave it be. When he had seen the boy he had instinctively known that this wasn't just a boy crying like them when they hurt their knees or missed Ireland, no this was a boy crying because something truly upset him. And that was adult stuff that they didn't really understand yet. Especially not Murphy. So he decided to distract his younger sibling and it seemed to work, because now the younger MacManus was back to running around and yelling and screaming and laughing because of their game.

The older MacManus had chosen their positions wisely. Connor MacManus, king of the playground, right in the middle. This way he could keep an eye on the exit and wait for Ma to come back, then he could keep an eye on the nervous bundle he called his twin brother, and this way he could also keep an eye on the lonely boy by the swings. The little stranger was now watching them curiously, eyes still a bit red and he was hovering there like he was afraid of getting hurt or had been hurt already. Judging by the black eye the latter seemed to be the case.

_Maybe some older boys had beaten him up? Maybe his Ma had forgotten him?_ He didn't really know what was up with the boy, but it was obvious that the stranger was regretting his decision to say no to the ball game now. Connor believed to see some distant longing in the boy's eyes, like he really wanted to play with them but something kept him from doing so. And maybe the blonde MacManus _accidentally_ threw the ball with a strange twirl, sending it far _far_ away from his twin and right towards the swings, where it landed in the sand with a gentle plop.

"Connorr!" Murphy protested because this had to be the 13th time he had to run after the ball because of him throwing it wrong. The older of the two still had trouble using his right hand instead of his good left hand, but Ma had insisted that he should be using his right hand. The left hand was evil. But truth was the right hand was just as evil, because he couldn't do anything with it. Which meant he couldn't freaking throw balls, but right now he had actually done it on purpose.

"Murph wait" the blonde MacManus demanded and stopped his twin from running after the ball. They could see how the other boy got up from the swing and, after staring at them for a good minute, went after the blue thing to get it back for them. As soon as the other blonde boy had turned his back on them Connor started grinning.

"You planned that, ye dickhead" Murphy growled and folded his arms, because he did no longer want the stranger to play with them after that harsh rejection.

Connor grinned even more and folded his arms just like his twin without even knowing it. Both MacManus brothers waited until the boy returned the ball for them.  
After looking at the twins for a bit he reluctantly handed it over to Connor.

"I like yer shirt" the blonde MacManus noted.

He was pointing at the black and dirty shirt that was way too large for the boy and that had lots of holes in it. Considering that the MacManus twins weren't really rich either Connor didn't really think bad about it. He really did envy the shiny imprint that read MOTORHEAD. Those were the signs of the devil, as Ma called it, but both Connor and Murphy still thought that it looked "cool". The boy looked down on himself and tugged at the letters.

"Got it from m'brother" he muttered and then played with his dirty and bruised fingers for a while. When he thought that he was no longer needed because he had successfully returned the ball his face fell and he looked down. He looked so upset again as he turned around and was just about to head back for the swing. But then Connor called after him again.

"We wanna play piggy in te middle. But we need a third ta play it. Would ye please play with us?"

The boy turned around again and looked at them, all unsure and chewing on his lower lip. For a second he looked angry like he was going to start yelling at them again, but there seemed to be more of a fight going on inside him, like he really wanted to play with them but something was still keeping him from joining.

"I ain't gonna be a piggy in no middle" he muttered and Connor smirked at him while wrapping an arm around Murphy's shoulder.

"Well I never said ye have ta, Murphy was gonna do it anyway."

"Te fuck 'm gonna do!" the younger MacManus protested and used the word they had heard Ma say more than once.

"Eh, you do watch yer fuckin tongue, Murphy MacManus" Connor growled and pointed a finger at his sibling just like their mother did.

Murphy just boxed him again and rolled his eyes.

"Stop tha, yer not my Ma."

"Aye, cos she's _my_ Ma, not yers."

"Connorrrr!"

The older MacManus snickered and then threw their ball at the boy, who caught it in surprise and sucked in some air because the ball had actually startled him.

"Go on then, ye can start then, crybaby" Connor declared, which made the boy extremely angry all of a sudden.

"'m not a crybaby!" he snapped, which made both MacManus twins look at him in surprise. The boy clung to the ball and then took a deep breath.

"It's Daryl. No crybaby, no Darylena, just Daryl" he growled and Connor and Murphy exchanged amused looks.

The younger MacManus tried his hardest to fight his laughter. Connor grinned and nodded.

"Alright, Daryl. Come on then, it's yer turn" he said as he made his way over to the fence to position himself.

Murphy started running as well and them placed himself a couple of feet in front of his brother. He started jumping, his bangs flying up and down with every move as he clapped and cheered. Daryl stood there for a whole minute and stared at the ball in his hands, because he really couldn't believe that someone actually wanted to play with him. Connor noticed how the boy seemed to be so unsure, because he looked at the ball at first and then searched the playground with a look on his face like he was a bit scared.

"Come on then, we're not gonna be here ferever, are we?"

"Aye, hurry up! I can't wait ta catch te ball on te first try!" the twins shouted and Daryl finally moved to stand opposite them.

He could no longer hide the excited and yet tiny and shy smile that broke through.

They played for a good ten minutes until Murphy started complaining because he just couldn't catch the ball, no matter how fast he ran and how high he jumped. Connor tortured his younger sibling for a bit longer and enjoyed the fact that they had made the boy named Daryl smile and then grin until he finally showed mercy and stepped in the middle. The MacManus twins would never let Daryl be the piggy, that went without saying. Connor and Murphy would swap places every now and then, even when Daryl was supposed to be in the middle, and soon all three boys were laughing and cheering and yelling and having fun. They felt comfortable enough with each other when Connor finally dared to ask.

"So why were ye so upset then?" he asked when he was standing right in front of Daryl to block the ball his grinning twin was about to throw.

Daryl stopped smiling as soon as the question was finished, and it took him five throws until he finally answered.

"M'mom died yesterday. In a fire."

Connor caught the ball and turned around to look at the boy.

"We're sorry."

"What about?" Murphy asked as he stepped closer because it was his turn to be in the middle.

"His Ma just died."

"Oh. Aye, we're sorry" Murphy said and both twins looked at Daryl, which made the boy feel awkward.

"We gonna keep playin? Ain't gonna stay here all day, my brother should be back, soon.."

Both twins looked at each other for a moment, then Connor ran back so they could keep playing.

"What about yer Da?" Murphy asked after a while, as if it was the most natural thing for him to take over the conversation his brother had just had.

Truth was that they weirded Daryl a bit out. They were like one person and yet they were not, and although he liked the blonde twin a bit more he still didn't mind talking to the other either.

"Out somewhere. Merle says he's in bars, checking out "chicks"."

Whatever his dad wanted with those little fluffy things.

"Our Da's dead" Murphy said, which made Connor snort.

"Da's not dead, he just...left, Murph. He just left."

Both twins were quiet for a while, but then Murphy couldn't keep his mouth shut anymore.

"Well, we can play tagether now. 't looks like we're gonna..."

"DARYL!"

The boy flinched so violently that it even startled both MacManus twins. Within seconds the boys stopped playing and turned their heads to see who had been yelling at them like that. They could see a man walking down the road to the playground, and he was kind of hard to miss. He looked younger than Ma, too young to be a dad, so the twins figured that this had to be Daryl's brother. It kind of fit, because they looked alike with their clothes, only that it was even worse with the older of the two siblings. The man's hair was shaved on both sides, with only a bit of hair on the top of his head still being there. He wore a leather jacket, heavy black boots and dirty jeans, and the wristbands and his whole body language told them that he wasn't one of the friendlies. The man, who's name was apparently Merle, was heading right for them, angry eyes fixed on the boy they had found crying just ten minutes earlier.

"What'd I tell yah about stayin in the trailer you worthless bug? Getcha ass back in there! And what are yah doin here playin with those little fags? With a _ball_?!"

"I'm sorry Merle, I was just...Dad was.." Daryl tried to explain as he backed of, but his brother wouldn't stop coming at him and then grabbed him by the back of his dirty shirt.

"And what'd I tell you about touching my stuff you..get that off you..!" he yelled at the boy and tried to get rid of the shirt, but after exchanging yet another knowing look both MacManus twins suddenly ran at him at started kicking and boxing his legs and hips.

"Let him go, he's our friend!" Connor protested and hit Merle. Murphy nodded and kicked the older brother.

"Aye! Let 'im go ye...ye..you fuckhead!"

Merle suddenly let go of Daryl and turned around to look at them, and after staring at the two for a whole minute he suddenly burst out laughing and shoved Murphy, causing the younger MacManus to fall on his ass.

"Leave him alone!" Connor suddenly yelled and suddenly launched himself at Daryl's brother with all the force he could gather, which wasn't much considering that he was only six years old.

"CONNOR MACMANUS" a female voice suddenly roared across the playground, making all four brothers turn their heads now.

Annabelle MacManus, a busty and corpulent blonde Irish woman in her midthirties was making her way down small road that led through the playground, heading right for them. Within seconds Murphy was back on his feet and standing right next to his twin, who was awaiting his mother but wouldn't stop giving Merle an evil glare every couple of seconds, almost like he was trying to scare him._ Because Ma was there. And that meant serious business._ Daryl was trying to sort his clothes and almost looked like he was about to cry again, and for some reason that made Connor angry like he had never been before. And he had been angry many times. But this wasn't the Murphy-broke-my-favourite-water-pistol kind of angry. No, he was angry because he finally understood why Daryl had been upset. He just hated to see upset people, and he wanted the cause - and that seemed to be Merle - to go away.

"What'd I tell me boys about fightin? Ye listen t'me and ye listen t'me now. Connor and Murphy MacManus - NO FIGHTIN! I didn't carry yah two little bastards in me at the same time for nothin like that!"

Their mother seemed to completely ignore the fact that they had not started the fight, and maybe she had not seen it in the first place. What made it even worse was the fact that both Murphy and Connor could see how Merle was already dragging their new friend away. Daryl was still trying to fight the grip on his shirt as he turned his head and looked back at them with a sad and longing look on his face.

"But..Ma..!"

"Ma..Listen t'me!" both twins protested, but it was useless.

Because Ma was in her preaching mode again. Which basically meant no diner tonight, and the incredibly annoying ear-pull as she dragged them towards the other exit of the playground and wouldn't stop yelling at them. Both MacManus twins tried to turn around and look for their friend once more, but Daryl and Merle were already gone. All that was left was the blue ball on the ground.


End file.
